VAT on listed buildings could spell 'disaster' for churches

The Bishop of Hereford has warned that the Government's plan to introduce VAT payments on alterations to listed buildings could be the "straw that breaks the camel's back" for many churches.

A change in VAT means that churches that have already started on renovation work will have to stump up 20 per cent more money to complete the work.

One church facing such a challenge is St Deinst in Llangarron , which now has to find an additional £60,000 for its project to adapt the building for community-wide use.

Wendy Coombey is the funding officer for the Diocese of Hereford and works with churches to find money for their repair and alteration projects.

She warned that the additional VAT could put an end to St Deinst's project.

"Llangarron is a £400,000 project and seven years of project development. They suddenly find they now have to find an additional £60,000 in VAT virtually overnight, with no warning or hint this was coming.

"This could very well break this project, as it now doubles the amount required in parish fundraising," she said.

The Rt Rev Anthony Priddis said there were churches in Herefordshire and south Shropshire that had already started planning building work, which are now having to reconsider whether they can go ahead "when such a large amount of funds raised will be paid straight to the Treasury".

"“This could be a disaster locally where most of our historic churches are Grade I or Grade II listed buildings,” said Bishop Priddis.

“It could just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for many of our small communities struggling to keep their buildings secure."

The Church of England owns 45 per cent of the listed buildings in England - some 12,500 churches.

Bishop Priddis is encouraging people to sign an e-petition launched by the Church of England in opposition to the VAT plan.

The petition was launched in response to a consultation by HM Revenue and Customs on VAT charging. The consultation is due to end on 4 May.

Ms Coombey warned that if the VAT change goes ahead, some churches may be forced to consider closure.

"I feel that a long term consequence of all these additional blows to our church funding, coupled with a particularly poor funding climate anyway, may eventually result in some parishes giving up and considering closure, which is a great pity,” she said.

“I am usually terribly optimistic about the abilities of our parishes to fight to stay open and develop but I am really struggling to see a light for many of them at the moment - so I am happy that we are going to support a central campaign to try and get this measure reversed."

The Church of England's e-petition can be found at: epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/32229